The present invention relates to harvesting apparatus and more particularly to a driving arrangement for shaker head assemblies of a harvesting apparatus usable to dislodge fruit, berries and a like produce by shaking and vibrating the produce, plants or bushes.
Known harvesting machines have been provided with shaker head assemblies for dislodging fruit, berries and the like produce and such mechanisms have included means which vibrate or shake the produce plants or bushes to dislodge the produce or fruit. The vibratory and shaking motion required on such machines has according to one method been produced by providing each shaker head assembly with its own power supply or by coupling two similar shaker head assemblies on opposite sides of the machine through a gear box so that the motion in each of the two shaker head assemblies counter balances the other. The production of such known machines has proved costly in that it has been necessary to provide additional parts, for example, a power supply for each of the shaker head assemblies or the inclusion of a gear box to transfer the power to a pair of shaker head assemblies mounted on either side of the harvesting machine.
When harvesting some types of berry fruit it is often difficult to ensure all the ripe or near ripe fruit which is to be harvested is shaken from the plant. This is partly caused by the vibrating tines not sufficiently penetrating the plant or following its counters. Harvesting machines have been provided whereby the shaker assemblies are mounted by a pivoted arm through whilst it could be said this type of mounting increases the effectiveness of the shaker assembly the main reason has been to allow the assembly free movement if an obstacle is met.
An object of the present invention is to provide a driving arrangement for shaker head assemblies of a harvesting apparatus which couples pairs of shaker head assemblies so that an impulse in one head assembly is balanced with the impulse in the other head assembly of the pair.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a harvesting apparatus having a drive arrangement for shaker head assemblies which enables shaking and vibrating tines mounted in operative communications with the shaker head assemblies to conform to the shape or width or row of the produce plant or bushes.